Machine for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes.



A. L. ENGBERG.

MACHINE FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 7, 1909.

Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARVID I1. ENGBERG, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MA- CHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

Application filed January '7, 1909. Serial No. 471,129.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARVID L. 'ENGBERG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Machines for Use in the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to machines for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes and particularly to machines for working an upper over a last.

In the manufacture of certain kinds of shoes, particularly shoes having thick or bulky upper material and which are made by the McKay process it is necessary to out out notches in the marginal edge of the upper stock at the toe of the shoe where the upper is laid over the. convex edge upon the last bottom. This is done to remove surplus material and permit the overworked upper to be laid smoothly and compactly upon the last bottom and form a suitable surface for the reception of the outersole. This work of cutting out notches from the margin of the upper, known in the shoe shops as pinking, and herein so called, has heretofore constituted a separate operation and while machines have been proposed for doing it the general practice at the present time is to pink the upper with a hand tool, like that shown in U. S. Letters Patent No. 562,119, granted June 16, 1896, to George W. Carter. I have discovered that this pinking operation can be performed with important advantages during and as an incident to the pulling-over operation, which term is understood, in the art, to apply to the positioning of the upper accurately with respect to the last preparatory to the lasting operation with, or without, the securing of the upper in its final position relatively to the insole and last by tacks, or other temporary securing means, applied at the toe and side of the ball of the sole.

One obvious advantage is that one handling of the shoeis saved, thus economi'zing the time of skilled workmen.

Another advantage incident to this procedure is that the upper may first be pulled and adjusted into correct position upon the last ready to be laid over and fastened if desired in its permanent place and then the pinking done while the upper is held in adjusted position so that the notches will be located where they belong'both as to position on the margin of the upper and as to their extent with relation to the line of fold over the edge of the last.

Further advantages are that the upper -may be held by the grippers while it is being pinked and that the pinking may, if desired, be effected automatically by the power driven machine so that it is done without any expense of time or attention on the part of the operator. 7

With this explanation it will be understood that a broad feature of this invention consists in providing a machine for working an upper over a last with means for pinking the upper.

The invention is herein shown as applied to a machine which includes means for fastening the upper in its adjusted and overlaid position and in this combination is found a further feature of this invention. Preferably a plurality of pinking cutters will be employed which will be arranged to form notches in the upper at either side of the center of the toe and the fastening means will be arranged to insert a tack between the notches which may be a'permanent fastening from which the lasting of the toe can be effected in either direction. The pinking means may be arranged to operate automatically and during every cycle of the machines operation or the machine may in clude means arranged to be set by the'operator when pinking is required in a particular shoe or lot'of shoes and means may also be provided for manually operating the pinking tool or tools at any time while the upper is held by the grippers. The machine may include means for changing the relative position of the pinking means and the upper after the grippers have Seized the upper and may also include means for changing the relative position of the pinking means and the last while the upper is held by the grippers. These provisions enable the pinking notches to be located at the points where they will be most useful in causing the upper to be evenly laid down upon the shoe bottom.

These and other features of the invention, including certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will be explained in the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention and will then be pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the invention applied to a pulling over machine of the type shown in U. S. Letters Patent 663,777 and which may be considered as the same in construction and operation as the machine shown in said patent except as herein stated. This figure shows only so much of the machine as appears necessary to illustrate for explaining the present invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the invention applied to a machine with curved grippers which are arranged to swivel for adjusting the upper upon the last. Figs. 8, 4t and 5 are details of parts shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and concerned more particularly with the new invention.

The shoe, indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and in full lines in Fig. 2 is adapted to be rested against the sole abutment or rest 2 .in position for the upper to be seized by the side grippers 4t and the toe grippers 5 which may be arranged and operated as in said patent except as pointed out below. It may be mentioned that, as explained in said patent,the toe grippers which are connected to the lever 6, and the side grippers connected to similar levers are automatically actuated yieldingly from the power-driven shaft to seize and pull the upper upwardly whereupon the machine comes to rest to permit the operator to inspect the work and adjust the upper and the last relatively. This adjustment may be effected by manipulating the side grippers to shift the upper transversely and also lengthwise of the last and by ma 1 nipulating the toe gripper by its lever to increase or relax the longitudinal pull on the upper or by its auxiliary lever '7 to re lease the upper and reengage it at a point nearer to or farther from the line at which it is desired to fold the upper over the edge of the last. In Fig. 2 the curved grippers 51 of later design are formed in two pairs free to move independently about their respective shanks 52 to adapt themselves to the shape and size of the toe portion of the last and capable of manual movement by the arm 53 about the axis of their common suspension 54 to adjust the upper with relation to the last. After the desired relative position of the upper and the last has been secured the machine is restarted and the bar 8 which holds the toe gripper against the spring 10 and similar bars holding the side grippers outwardly are retracted permitting the springs to move the grippers inwardly for overdrawing the upper across the edge of the last in position to be laid down upon the last bottom, or the innersole thereon and fastened by tacks from the tack arm 12 and similar arms at the sides of the shoe. The tack arms are acted upon by pull bars, as at 14: in Fig. 1, connected to the power shaft and caused to swing the arm 12 about its pivotal support 15 until its movement is arrested by the stop 16 meeting the end of the shoe. During this inward movement of the tack arm the head 18 of the driver bar carried by said arm strikes the latch 20 tripping the grippers and causing them to release the upper in time for the wiper 22 to hold it against the innersole while the tack is being driven.

In accordance with the illustrated embodiment of the present invention pinking knives or cutters 25 shaped to remove portions of the upper materials extending from the edge of the upper toward the line of fold over the edge of the last and leave V- shaped or other notches in the upper are supported on the toe grippers and guided in suitable slots in the fixed jaw of the grippers. The knives may out against a suitable cutting surface arranged in the swinging gripper jaw or may cooperate with a shearing face or with a narrow recess in that jaw. The pinking knives, of which two are shown, are arranged at opposite sides of the center of the toe gripper and spaced apart to leave a tongue of upper to be tacked to the innersole and to locate the notches where the surplus upper material folded over the edge of the last would otherwise most interfere with securing a smooth surface upon which to lay the outersole. The knives 25 are attached to levers 26 pivoted between lugs 28 on the gripper bar and normally held by a spring 30 in the positio s shown with the cutters retracted. A stop 29 limits this retractive movement of the pinking tool. In Figs. 1 and 8 both cutters are fast on one lever while in Fig. 2 where the curved grippers can turn relatively the cutters are carried by separate levers 261 which have sliding ball connections with a head bar 32. The cutting movement of the pinking knives is effected by devices which include the rods 34 provided with fixed collars 35 for engagement with lugs or hooks 36 on opposite sides of the tack arm 12. This lug is shown as pivoted to the tack arm and capable of being turned as in dotted lines in Fig. 2 out of engage ment with the collars 35 to disconnect the pinking knives from the tack arm when automatic operation of the pinkers in time relation with the driven parts of the machine is not desired. A spring plunger 37, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, holds the lug 36 in either of its two positions and permits the connection to be readily established or broken according to the work being done or the desire of the operator. The rods 34 are shown as including yielding elements which, however, will be still enough to in sure the clean cutting of the upper materials and may be adjusted to vary their tension. The rods also have pin and slot connections 38 with the cutter levers to permit the grippers to move freely inwardly as they tend to do after releasing the upper by the continued expansion of the overdraw springs 10.

The pinker operating rods 8% are extended beyond the collars to a connection with a swinging arm 40 pivoted on the frame of the machine and having a hand lever 42 by which it can be moved for manually actuating the pinkers at the will of the operator when the lug 36 is disconnected from them. The hand lever is pivotally connected to the arm 40 so that it can be turned up into the dotted line position, Fig. 1, when it is not to be used frequently. It can however be used in either of its positions and it is held when placed in either position by a spring pin 43.

The cutting edges of the knives are oblique to the plane of the gripping faces of the jaws as shown in Fig. 4 so that the cut is effected progressively and therefore more easily than if the planes were parallel. Another advantage is that when the tripping device 20 is actuated, permitting the grippers to release their bite on the upper and the upper to pull out from between the aws the upper is drawn lengthwise of the cutting edges ancl if any fibers or threads of lining material have not been fully severed that will be done by this drawing out. The upper, longitudinal edge faces of the pinking cutter may be sharpened as indicated in the drawings, so that they will out their way out of the upper as the latter pulls from the jaws in case the upper should extend above said cutter in the jaws. \Vhen the knife is retracted as shown in Fig. t it clears itself of the chip removed from the stock which can fall freely from the grippers.

Then the pinking knives are actuated automatically from the tack arm the cutting takes place after all of the adjustments of the upper have been made with relation to the last, and with relation to the lmives in the grippers, so that the notches are made only in the places where they are desired. The toe grippers can, as explained, be adjusted up or down to grip the upper and to cause it to be pinked more or less close to the line of fold that is to be made over the edge of the last. The knives can be operated by the hand lever at any time. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 2 the knives can move with the relatively movable pairs of jaws to adapt their position to the contour of the last edge so that they cut substantially perpendicularly to the plane of the adjacent portion of the side face of the last.

Having explained the nature of this invention and described a preferred construction embodying the same, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States l. A machine of the class described having, in combination, means for pulling over a shoe and means for pinking the upper while the shoe continues in the control of the pulling-over means.

2. A machine of the class described having, in combination, means for pulling an upper over a last having provision for adjusting the upper upon the last, and means for pinking the upper.

3. A machine of the class described having, in combination, means for pulling an upper, means for pinking the portion of the upper that is pulled, and means for tacking the upper after the pulling and the pinking operation.

4. A machine of the class described having, in combination, means for pulling an upper over a last, means for adjusting the upper upon the last, means for pinking the pulled over portion of the upper, and means for fastening the said pulled over portion of the upper.

5. A machine of the class described having, in combination, means for pulling an upper, means for pinking the upper at a plurality of places on the pulled portions, and means for fastening the upper between the pinking notches.

6. A machine of the class described having, in combination, means for pulling an upper, means for fastening the upper to the last, and means operating automatically to pink the pulled upper before it is fastened.

7 A machine of the class described having, in combination, means for pulling an upper, means for fastening the upper, pinking means, and means adapted to be rendered operative or inoperative to effect the operation of the pinking means automatically.

8. A machine of the class described having, in combination, means for pulling an upper, means for fastening the upper, pinkingv means, and means adapted to be rendered operative or inoperative to effect the operation of the pinking means automatically, and other means for manually actuating the pinking means when the automatic actuating means is inoperative.

9. A machine of the class described having, in combination, means for pulling the toe portion of an upper, power driven means for operating the pulling means, and pinking means capable of manual operation to notch the portion of upper that is pulled while it continues to be held by the pulling means.

10. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a gripper to seize an upper, power driven means for actuating the gripper to pull the upper, means for manually adjusting the gripper, and pinking means arranged for adjustment with the gripper.

11.. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a gripper, poweridriven means for actuating the gripper to seize and pull an upper, means for adjusting the upper, and means for pinking the upper at opposite sides of the center of the gripper.

12. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a gripper, pinking means arranged with relation to the gripper for movement therethrough to cut out a notch from the stock held by the gripper and comprising a plurality of pinking knives, an actuator and independently yielding connections from the actuator to the knives.

13. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a gripper, a pinking tool arranged with relation to the gripper for movement therethrough to cut out a notch from the stock held by the gripper.

1A. A machine for working an upper over a last having in combination, a gripper for pulling the upper, a pinking tool, and means for actuating the tool to remove a portion from the portion of the upper held by the gripper thus forming a notch therein while the upper continues to be held under tension by the gripper.

15. A machine for working an upper over a last having in combination, a gripper for pulling the upper, a pinking tool movable through the gripper and means for actuating the tool to pink the upper while the grippers continue to hold the upper.

16. A machine for working an upper over a last having in combination, a gripper for pulling the upper, a pinking tool supported on the gripper and movable therethrough across the gripping plane, and means for actuating the pinking tool to notch the upper.

17 A machine for working an upper over a last having in combination, a gripper for pulling the upper, a pinking tool supported on the gripper and movable across the gripping plane, and means for actuating the pinking tool automatically to notch the upper.

18. A machine for Working an upper over a last having in combination, a gripper for pulling the upper, a plurality of pinking tools spaced apart to form separate notches and guided through the gripper and means for actuating said tools to notch the upper.

19. A pulling over machine having in combination, a gripper, means for actuating the gripper to pull the upper, a tacking device, means for actuating said device into tacking positions, a pinker and means for actuating the pinker to notch the upper between the pulling and the tacking operations.

20. A pulling over machine having in combination, a gripper, means for actuating the gripper to pull the upper, a tacking device, means tor actuating said device into tacking position, a pinker and means wl1ereby the pinker is actuated by the movement of the tacker into tack driving position.

21. A pulling over machine having in combination, a gripper, means for actuating it to pull an upper over a last, means for relatively adjusting the last and gripper to position the upper while it is held by the gripper, a pinker and means for actuating the pinker to notch the upper.

22. A pulling over machine having in combination, a gripper, means for actuating it to grip and pull the upper at the toe end of a last, means for moving the gripper to adjust the upper laterally of the last and a pinker movable with the gripper and adapt ed to notch the upper at opposite sides of the center of the toe.

23. A machine for pulling an upper over a last having in combination, a gripper, a pinker, a last rest, means for operating the pinker and means for adjusting the pinker and gripper relatively to the last while the upper is held. under tension by the gripper.

2A. A machine of the class described having in combination, means for gripping and pulling an upper, a pinking tool for notching the upper and means for supporting the tool arranged to permit angular movement of the tool to position itself to cut substan tially perpendicularly to the plane of the adjacent side of the last.

25. A machine of the class described hav ing in combination, means for gripping and pulling an upper, a plurality of pinking tools relatively movable angularly to position themselves according to the contour of the adjacent portion of the last and means for actuating the tools to notch the upper.

26. A shoe making machine having in combination, a toe gripper, a toe tacker, pinkers and means for actuating said devices to pull the upper and tack it at the middle of the toe and to notch the upper at opposite sides of the tacking point.

27. A shoe making machine having in combination, a gripper, means to position the last, a pinker arranged for positioning movement from and toward the edge of the last and means to actuate the pinker to cut a notch in the upper extending from the edge of the upper toward the edge of the last.

28. A pulling over machine having in combination means for pulling an upper over a last, including provision for relatively adjusting the upper and the last, means for pinking or notching the upper at a plurality of places located at opposite sides of the middle of the toe while the shoe remains in position to be pulled over and means for tacking the upper between the notches.

29. A pulling over machine having in combination, means for pulling an upper over a last, means for adjusting the upper relatively to the last, means for pinking or notching the upper, and means for inserting a tack to fasten the adjusted upper in predetermined relation to the notch.

30. A machine of the class described having, in combination, grippers for seizing and pulling an upper, a cutter blade having a cutting edge on its end and side, means for thrusting the cutter through the stock held by the grippers, means for releasing the grippers to permit the upper to draw from between the jaws while the cutter remains. in position to cause its sharpened side to sever the upper to its edge as the upper pulls out.

31. A machine of the class described having, in combination, grippers for seizing and pulling an upper, a pinking cutter having a sharpened V-shaped cutting end and sharpened side edges, and means for thrusting the cutter through the stock held by the grippers, said parts being constructed and arranged to cause the side edges of the cutter to sever the upper to its edge as it pulls out from the grippers when they are released.

32. In a machine of the class described, means for gripping an upper that is fitted over a last, means for relatively actuating the gripping means and the last to put the upper under tension about the last, and a pinking cutter having a V-shaped cutting end adapted to penetrate the upper, said gripping means being arranged to permit the upper to be withdrawn therefrom as it is laid over the last bottom, and sharpened side edges on the cutter arranged to insure that the upper shall be cut to its edge as it is withdrawn from position to be pinked.

33. In a pulling over machine, means for pulling over the upper at the sides of the shoe, means for pulling over the upper at the toe, means for pinking the toe portion of the upper on opposite sides of the 1011 git-udinal median line of the last.

34. In a machine of the class described, means for pulling over the upper at the sides and at the toe, and means for notching the upper at the toe on opposite sides of the median line before the upper is laid over the last to facilitate the smooth disposition of the upper upon the last bottom, Whereby the upper is laid smoothly over the corners of the toe of the last without projecting materially beyond the contour thereof.

35. In a pincer mechanism, the combination of two jaws, means for relatively moving said jaws to open and close them, a knife connected to one jaw, means for causing the knife to penetrate the stock back of the edge, means for pulling the knife toward the edge of the stock to slit the same to the edge as the jaws release the stock and connected power operated mechanism for actuating the several means and said knife.

36. In a pincer mechanism, the combination of pincer jaws, means to open and close said jaws, a knife carrier connected to one of said jaws and having a knife, means for causing the knife to penetrate the stock at a point remote from the edge, means to move the knife toward the edge of the stock to slit the same through the edge as the jaws release the material, and power operated mechanism for said parts.

37. In a pincer mechanism for lasting machines, the combination of pincer jaws, means to open and close said jaws, a knife carrier pivotally mounted on one jaw and having a knife, means on the other jaw to cause the knife to penetrate the upper and lining back of the edge, means to cause the knife to cut the upper and lining toward and through the edge as the jaws release their grip on the upper and lining, and power actuated mechanism for operating said means.

38. In a pincer mechanism for lasting machines, the combination of pincer jaws, means to open and close said jaws, yielding means for giving the jaws the overdraw movement, a knife adapted to penetrate the upper and lining at a point remote from the edge portion thereof, said yielding means acting to move the knife toward the edge of the upper and lining to cut the same as the jaws release the stock at the conclusion of the overdraw movement and power operated mechanism for actuating said parts.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARVID L. ENGBERG.

lVitnesses:

HERBERT W. KENWAY, ARTHUR L. RUSSELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

